Building an innovative, affordable and sustainable future one healthy home at a time

Jim, you tend to be an independent thinker...on the lookout for new opportunities and fresh concepts...This quest for novelty and original challenges is what tends to fuel you, and you often thrive when faced with knotty problems or the chance to scale to new heights...Once you find an appropriate challenge, [your] desire to meet your personal goal usually inspires you to create innovative solutions and do whatever it takes to succeed. [You have] no hesitation about ignoring conventional thinking and your solutions can be both creative and daring. You tend to focus on results, making it even more likely that your answers to perplexing issues will be ground breaking and even unprecedented. You might ask, “Is there a better way to do this?” while others go along with the accepted wisdom."

For over 25 years I've owned and managed my construction company here in Chicago. In 1991, I started my The Gramata Design & Construction Company right out of graduate school when the economy was in the pits. I made a good living but I needed to bring design into my business.

In 1999, I redeveloped the company mission. The Gramata Development Corporation was founded. The Gramata Development Corporation is a full service company dedicated to deliver to the public innovative and unique architectural designs and high-quality, dependably built homes. My mission then was focused on high-end housing developments and I took very little consideration into sustainability and green building methods.

In 2012, that changed. I refocused my energies and business mission to include sustainably built and healthy homes. The Gramata Development Corporations' new refreshed mission is to provide sustainably-built healthy, durable and affordable housing to homebuyers or renters in need.

There are some companies that wed their business process with their business purpose. Both business imperatives and social imperatives into one mission. A purposeful businesses. This is our new business mission and ethos. It gives us so many opportunities beyond building innovative housing including job training and community development while serving a diverse group of citizens in need.

I began Healthy Homes Chicago which is an alliance of like-minded business professionals from a variety of disciplines whose mission is to encourage, educate and engage communities and homeowner's around the topics of healthy and sustainable housing, design and construction.

My expertise includes a deep knowledge of building science coupled with my education and experience in architectural design. Challenges inspire me to create innovative solutions and to discover new paths to successfully meet the needs of our undeserved communities. My primary focus is to revitalize and develop neglected properties while maintaining a continued commitment to and respect for the quality of neighborhoods and community.

I strive to offer creative solutions to complex problems. I embrace difficult problems and seek original challenges to keep my energy focused. Challenges inspire me to create innovative solutions & discover new paths to success. I am able to ignore conventional thinking seeking instead novelty and original challenges. I understand and strive when integrating the cross application of experiences and disciplines into new interdiscuplinary housing solutions.

My analytical thinking can be applied to creative innovative proposals and designs while my design sensitivity allows me to get in touch with the intricacies & nuances of a project. I constantly am striving to seek continuously exciting and challenging opportunities always asking if there is a better way to solve the problem for task and never settle for mediocrity. It is critical to have full integration of the project program requirements and goals into the specific design solutions for each housing solution with a hands-on approach from sketches, models & mockups to actual built construction.

I seek business partners with like-minded thinking about using innovative construction methods, housing methods and purposeful social and environmental solutions and to fulfill the strong and often neglected need of healthy and affordable housing in our community.

Contact me to discuss this more if you're interested in partnering or see an alliance opportunity. ​Jim Gramata, M.Arch. GREENjim@gramatagroup.com